Luxa the Underlander
by MinisculeCello
Summary: When the Underland breaks out in war days before Luxa's 16th birthday, she is evacuated to the Overland where she has to dye her hair and go by a different name. All she wants is for Gregor to know who she really is, but she isn't allowed to tell him.
1. Follow The Leader

FOLLOW THE LEADER  
>ONE<p>

I stare out of the stained glass window in my bedroom. All around me, Crawlers, Spinners, Gnawers, Fliers, and even us Underlanders, called Killers, are at battle.

I am not safe. Now, as I near my sixteenth birthday, when I will be completely in charge of Regalia, I am even more in danger than I was in the Underland's last big battle- and then, I had The Warrior to protect me, The Princess (Of cockroaches, might I add), and, since she doesn't have a similar title, Lizzie, who will henceforth be referenced to as The Genius. And all of them siblings. Their father, a madman, had been captured by Gnawers and lived, and their mother, The Worrier, had survived a dreadful sickness. Their grandmother, the Coot, (My personal nickname for her), had died from locking herself in an infernal device called a Washing Machine.

I return to the battle. I should be out there, fighting with Ripred, my bond. Though, considering that he is a Gnawer _and _a Rager, he has probably killed more than all of the Regalian citizens combined. Either way, Vikus was probably going to burst into my room in Three, Two, One….

"Luxa! Come with me, you must hurry. Bring only yourself." Vikus looked like he had aged thirty years, maybe more. This war had taken its toll on everybody.

I followed Vikus down a secret passageway I had never even known about. I had traveled down the corridor thousands of times (the restroom was down the hall and to the right) and I had never even noticed it. Of course, the only reason I ever went down this hall _was_ to go to the restroom, and I was usually in such a hurry I never noticed that there was a door directly across the restroom entrance.

Vikus abruptly stopped, and I royally ran in to him.

"Sorry," I say, apologizing for nearly running the elderly man over.

"Shhh," Vikus whispers. "Make no sound." I stay silent, except after a few minutes, I burp.

"Excuse me," I whisper.

"Silence," Vikus whispers in an irritated voice. We waited without speaking for several more minutes, and then Vikus says, "Luxa, follow me. Hold my hand. Whatever you do, do not let go. Follow directly behind me. Only walk where I have walked." He doesn't ask anything like, _Luxa, do you understand_. We walk for what seems like miles. I don't ask where we are going, for I know that Vikus will not answer. I hear Gnawers, Crawlers, and other creatures around me, but I keep my head down. They have excellent night vision, unlike Vikus and me, and if I allow my head to rise, they will be able to identify me as Luxa, Queen of Regalia. During war, I prefer to remain anonymous.

"Here we are," Vikus says, and he lifts up a large metal circle in the ceiling. I pop my head out of the hole and look around. There are buildings. Tall buildings. I have never seen buildings this tall- they tower over those of Regalia. The city is ablaze with lights- it looks as if the place is on fire.

"Wha….. What is this place?" I ask.

"This," says Vikus, "Is New York City."


	2. A Complementary Makeover

A COMPLEMENTARY MAKEOVER

TWO

"Watch out!" I scream. A carriage is zooming toward us. Vikus and I duck back into the hole. "What was that?" I ask.

"Sorry," Vikus chuckles. "I should have warned you about the cars."

"I am confused," I say. "What was pulling those carriages? What about the Gnawers, the Crawlers, the Spinners? Where are the fliers?" Vikus chuckles again.

"Luxa, there are no creatures like those in Regalia. Well, there are, but in miniature."

"What do you mean miniature?"

"Let's take a little field trip, shall we?" Vikus pokes up out of the hole again, waits until there are no more…cars… coming, and he climbs out of the hole, lifts me up, and we stand in the street until another car comes, which is like, three seconds later.

And then it hits me. (A thought, not a car.)

"Gregor! Gregor lives in New York City!" I exclaim.

"Well, I suspect so," Vikus says. "Unless, of course, he moved to Virginia."

"Well, if he _did _live here, where exactly would that be?" I ask.

"Well, the thing is…" Vikus says, "You're here for protection. We have to change your appearance completely." I look around. We've reached a park now; I believe it's called Central Park. It greatly resembles the Central Park that Gregor told me about. I wonder if there is more than one.

"Does this mean Gregor will not recognize me? Why can't I just simply tell him I am Luxa?" And kiss him, and confess my undying love for him, and kiss him, and some other stuff I can't talk about, and kiss him again…..

"Luxa, no, I don't think you're understanding. The Warrior- I mean, Gregor, - is constantly being watched."

"Watched by what?" I demand.

"Gnawers, Fliers, Crawlers, Spinners, Stingers….. Every creature in the Underland keeps watch on the Warrior. He is the only thing that can destroy and/or seriously maim any living creature in the Underland, Rager or Non-Rager."

"Since when did Gregor become so powerful?" I envision a skinny twelve-year-old barely able to hold a sword.

"Luxa, Gregor has always been extremely powerful. But in his... pubescence," Ew. "He has almost reached the peak of his abilities. We might need him for the war. If he is distracted by a… treasured female," Vikus decides, "His Rager senses might not be as good as they should, or, even worse, his Rager senses might turn on when they should be off. Somebody could get killed!"

"I don't understand. What does this mean?" I ask.

"This means," Vikus says, "That your beloved Gregor the Warrior cannot be alerted that

you are not in Regalia. Gregor can't know you are here."


End file.
